A Princess' Duty
by kouhaswife
Summary: Kougyoku has been told to get a political marriage with Alibaba. She is fully aware that it is her duty as a princess to eventually get married, but she had not foreseen falling in love…


**Pairing: Judal x Kougyoku**

**Summary: Kougyoku has been told to get a political marriage with Alibaba. She is fully aware that it is her duty as a princess to eventually get married, but she had not foreseen falling in love…**

"Princess Kougyoku..." Kougyoku stirred in her sleep. "Hag!" Kougyoku jolted awake. It was Judal, the oracle and magi of the Kou Empire that had decided to enter her room and wake her up. Kougyoku sat up and was groggy. "It's not like you to sleep in. What's up?" Judal asked. Kougyoku shook her head no. "It's nothing." But, there is something bothering her that happened last night.

_"Kougyoku, Please come to my study," Kouen asked. Kougyoku nodded, and followed her older half-brother into his study in the library. _

_ Kougyoku thought that it was weird he had called her, since she usually was not noticed by her older brothers. She was considered the outcast of the family, the daughter of a prostitute. She eventually became a King's Candidate with Judar's help, and that raised her social standing in the family. But she was still the Eighth Princess._

_ "Kougyoku -You are to marry the Third Prince of Balbadd, Alibaba Saluja," Kouen said. As soon as he had finished the sentence, Kougyoku's face filled with despair. "As the Eighth Princess of the Kou Empire, you are to marry him so we can have closer relations. All of your other sisters are married, and you are the only one left," Kouen said._

Kougyoku cannot disobey her older brother. As a Princess, she knew that she was going to have to marry a King or Prince of a country, but there was something she didn't expect. She did not expect to fall in love. She did not expect to fall in love with Judal, the man who constantly teases her and calls her a hag. He is the same man that helped her obtain her King Vessel, Vinea, the one who pulled her out of her shell. He is the man that made her a General, and helped her gain respect from the people of the palace. He is the man that constantly teases her, and she loves him.

Sure, she loves Alibaba, but as a friend. You can even say that he was Kougyoku's first friend. When she was alone in the garden in Sindria, he approached her and gave her a crown made of flowers. They fought together in the battle with Magnoshutatt. They have a bond, but she could not love him.

Judal pinched Kougyoku's nose and she blushed. "Hey you're zoning out," he said. "What's wrong?" Kougyoku could not bring herself to tell him about what Kouen said. She couldn't even tell him she loves him, either. He is basically a servant, and not of royal blood, and a love between them cannot happen. Kougyoku started to tear up. "W-wait! What did I do?" Judal panicked. She shook her head no. Judal started to head towards the door. "I guess I should leave you alone for a while..." and then he left. Kougyoku started sobbing even more.

After leaving Kougyoku's room, he headed to Kouen's study in the library to ask if he knows anything on what happened to her. She gave him such a sad look, and it hurt him to see her like that. Even if he loves teasing her, he doesn't want to see her cry. It's weird. He doesn't know why he feels that way.

Judal entered Kouen's study. "What is it?" Kouen asked. "Has something happened to Kougyoku recently?" Judal inquired. He thought that it was unlikely that Kouen would know anything about Kougyoku, but he was desperate and wanted to know. "Well she's going to marry Alibaba, if that's what you mean."

Those words hit Judal hard. He never imagined that Kougyoku would have to marry someone so early, she's only 19. She's basically a baby. Well, not technically, but to Judal she is a baby. Judal immediately left the study. Why was he so frantic to see Kougyoku?

Judal entered Kougyoku's room again. She was under her covers, so she didn't know it was him. "Ka Koubun… what do I do?" Kougyoku cried out from under her covers. "I can't tell him. He doesn't even want to be friends with me. But soon I'll end up leaving without saying anything!" she cried out. Judal doesn't know what or who she was talking about, but he stayed quiet to find out. "Ka Koubun! How can I tell Judal I love him?"

Judal completely froze, and his eyes widened. Love? The hag loves him? Even though he constantly teases her, she loves him? Judal found that silly. He's so mean to her, and yet she fell in love with him?

"Ka Koubun! Why aren't you saying anything?" Kougyoku cried. She found it suspicious that he didn't input anything so she lifted her covers and sat up. "Ka Ko-," she started to say but stopped, seeing the black-haired magi staring at her. He looked surprised, or was he horrified? Was he about to make fun of her? Bluntly reject her? She furiously blushed and went back under her covers.

Love, huh? Judal contemplated all the things he did to her. He constantly calls her hag, and he loves her reactions. But he also brought her out of her shell, made her a King Candidate and a general. Could that have been the cause? They are indeed very close, despite turning down her friendship. He also found her very beautiful, more than Hakuei. Was it love that he felt towards her that caused him to frantically go to her side?

He laughed. He found that preposterous. Him? Someone who loves war and causing trouble is in love with Kougyoku? He continued laughing. "Sorry Princess but you're imagining things. You don't love me. You're just grateful that I made you a general, and made this fantasy of falling in love with me. Do you really not want to marry Alibaba?" Judal snorted.

Kougyoku let those words go through her brain. Maybe Judal was right. She must have been scared that she was going to have to get married, so she might have thought that she was in love with someone else. She sat up and let the covers fall from her. "You're right! As if _I_ could fall in love with _you_," Kougyoku said with a smile.

Now that this problem was solved, Judal left Kougyoku's room and Ka Koubun entered. "Princess! Judal just exited! Did something happen?" he asked. "Yeah! I told him how I feel and he said that it wasn't really love. And he was right! As if I could fall in love with someone like him," Kougyoku explained.

She grinned, but Ka Koubun knew that her smile was fake. He had been with the Princess long enough to be able to know her faces. She really was hurt by what Judal had told her, and he refused to bring up again.

Several months later, Kougyoku went to Balbadd to get married. Her siblings came and Judal did as well. She still loves him. Whatever she said that day was all a lie, and she just didn't want to make a fuss over it. She'll just have to continue her duties as a Princess.

Judal didn't want to go the wedding, as he didn't want to see Kougyoku get married to some brat. Someone like him who walks in darkness cannot be in love with someone who is the epitome of light. He knows that her smile that day was fake. He knows her too well. He knows he had hurt her, and the smile Kougyoku wears today isn't real. She doesn't want to be there. Every time she glanced over at Judal, she faked a smile, a smile that shows she had been hurt. Seeing Kougyoku in that beautiful white dress made him realize something.

He loved her, too.


End file.
